shot heard round the world

English

Etymology

From the 1837 poem Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Phrase

shot heard round the world

1. The opening volleys of the Battles of Lexington and Concord during the American Revolution.
2. A 1951 home run by Bobby Thompson of the New York Giants
3. (idiomatic) Any cataclysmic event

Alternative forms

• shot heard 'round the world